Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

Madeira’s Top 10
36
Left Reid’s Hotel Right Statue of Tristão Vaz Teixeira in Machico
Moments in History
! Island Formation
Twenty million years ago the
islands of the Madeiran group
began to emerge from the sea
(first Porto Santo, then Madeira
and the Ilhas Desertas). Pockets of
fertile soil were created as storms
eroded the softer layers of volcanic
ash. Slowly the island came
to life, as seeds excreted by visiting
birds took root and spread.
Early Visitors @ Sailors visited Madeira to
gather sap from dragon trees for
use in dying clothes. Mentioned
in the Natural History of Pliny the
Elder (AD 23–79), Madeira first
appears on the Medici Map of
1351, as “Isola de Lolegname”
(“Wooded Isle”).
£ Zarco Arrives
Prince Henry “the
Navigator” (1394–1460),
third son of King John I
of Portugal, realized how
valuable Madeira was to
sailors exploring the Atlantic
Ocean. He sent João
Gonçalves Zarco (1387–
1467) (see p15) to the islands.
Zarco landed on Porto Santo, and
returned in 1420 to claim Madeira
for Portugal.
$ Colonization
Portuguese colonization of
Madeira began in 1425, when
Zarco returned to govern the
southwestern half from Funchal.
Tristão Vaz Teixeira controlled the
northeastern half, and Bartolomeu
Prince Henry
“The Navigator”
Perestrelo governed Porto Santo.
Machico was initially the capital,
but Funchal had a better harbour
and gained city status in 1508.
% Prosperity
By 1470, Madeira’s early
settlers were exporting wheat,
dyestuffs, wine and timber, but
sugar produced the biggest
profits. Trading with London,
Antwerp, Venice and Genoa, the
island bloomed for 150 years as
Europe’s main sugar producer,
channelling the profits into
building and art.
^ Wine
Quick profits and wealth
became a thing of the past
once Caribbean and Brazilian
sugar hit European
markets in the mid-16th
century. Malvazia
(Malmsey), a rich sweet
wine, then took over as
Madeira’s main export. It
is the favourite drink of
Shakespeare’s roistering
character Falstaff.
The British Arrive & British merchants dominated
the wine trade after Charles II
married the Portuguese princess
Catherine of Braganza in 1662,
and British (and American) taxes
on Madeira wine were reduced
as part of the marriage settlement.
So valuable was Madeira
to the British that an armed force
was sent in 1801 to prevent
Napoleon from capturing it.
Preceding pages Traditional A-framed houses, Santana